Various medical treatments often require the use of medical articles and tubing. In many cases the devices or tubing must be secured to a patient's body. For example, it can be necessary to introduce fluids and liquid medications directly into a blood vessel of a patient. For short term general use, a simple intravenous (IV) line can be placed onto a patient's arm. For longer term and more specialized needs, catheters or other devices are used. In another example, a Foley catheter may be necessary for draining urine from a patient's bladder.
Healthcare providers often secure catheters and other devices or tubing to patients during hospital stays or in-home care. Securing the devices aids in proper positioning, which prevents leaks or interruptions in medication dosing, minimizes patient discomfort, and limits tangling, catching, and dislodging of connective tubing due to patient movement.
In order to keep a catheter or other medical articles or tubing properly positioned for the duration of treatment, the medical article may be secured to the patient in a variety of ways. One common way of securing a medical article or tubing is by taping the catheter or medical line to the patient's skin. However, taping can be time consuming and labor intensive. Tape can also collect contaminants and must be frequently removed and replaced. In addition, taping is not necessarily effective in securing a medical article or catheter in place, and removal of the tape may cause undesired motion of the device or catheter. Sutures have also been used to attach a catheter to a patient. With sutures, the catheter is stitched onto the skin. Sutures, however, can be a source of infection, can cause pain and inflammation, and can make it more difficult to clean around the incision site. Sutures also require time and skill to place, and can cause scarring.
Various other securement devices have been developed to obviate some of the fallbacks associated with the use of tape and sutures. Some existing securement devices are generally designed for a specific type or size of catheter or medical article. As a result, multiple securement devices may be needed to accommodate different types or sizes of catheters, e.g., in hospitals and clinical settings. This can add to the cost and complexity of sourcing, inventory, storage, and selection of the securement devices. Additionally, many securement devices still suffer effects of patient movement in which tubing may become kinked or pinched and restrict flow of medication, blood, or urine.
There remains a need for securement devices that accommodate varying sizes of medical articles or tubing and allow patient movement while not disrupting or kinking the tubing.